Derechos de Autor

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are among the most important writings of the Yoga school, and have remained relevant for 2,300 years because of their wisdom and inspiration. In this webinar course, Ravi Ravindra will explore the heart and purpose of yoga as expressed in the Yoga Sutras, with special emphasis on section 2.2 which states that the true purpose of yoga is the cultivation of Samadhi, meaning freedom from the ego-self, and the diminishing of the kleshas, that are the impediments standing in the way of achieving this goal.

The course will be based on Ravi Ravindra’s book The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

Ravi Ravindra is a professor emeritus at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he served as professor in comparative religion, philosophy and physics. A lifetime member of the Theosophical Society, Ravi has taught many courses in The School of the Wisdom in Adyar and at the Krotona Institute in Ojai, Calif. He was a member of the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, a fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla, and the founding director of the Threshold Award for Integrative Knowledge. His last book was The Pilgrim Soul: A Path to the Sacred Transcending World Religions and his new book on the Bhagavad Gita will be published by Shambhala Publications in the spring of 2017. For more information visit www.ravindra.ca .

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Pitris

(Sk. pits; cf. Latin paters). Progenitors or “fathers” of humanity. They are mentioned in Hindu scriptures and in Helena P. Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine. Pitis are said to be superior beings who contributed to human evolution and The Secret Doctrine refers to two main types of Pitis, the Lunar and the Solar.

Lunar Pitis are beings who have completed their human evolution during the Lunar CHAIN and which provided the forms for the human race of the Earth Chain. The Secret Doctrine states:

The Pitris shoot out from their ethereal bodies, still more ethereal and shadowy similitudes of themselves, or what we should now call “doubles” or “astral forms,” in their own likeness. This furnishes the Monad with its first dwelling, and blind matter with a model around and upon which to build henceforth (I, p. 248).

The Lunar Pitis are called by many other names in The Secret Doctrine, such as Barhishads, Lunar Sons, Lunar Gods, Sons of Soma, Pitaras, Lunar Fathers, etc.

The Solar Pitis, often called “Lords of the Flame,” are said to be superior to the Lunar Pitis. They provided the intelligence and consciousness to the Human race during the middle of the Third Root Race. Previous to this, the human race was described as “empty senseless Bh™ta” or phantom, due to the non-functioning of the mental principle. Because of this role, the Solar Pitis are also referred to as MĀNASAPUTRAS (Sons of Mind), Lords of Wisdom, Sons of Wisdom, or Mind-born Sons. Another name used is AGNISHVĀTTA (having tasted fire “of mind”).

This teaching about the Solar Pitis has been compared by H. P. Blavatsky to the Greek myth of Prometheus who brought fire to humanity, for which he was punished by Zeus.